How many hats do you wear?

Middle School Schedule for March 13th - 16th

Is “Thank You” ever enough?

I want to express my gratitude for the way our community stepped up continuously in the recent past. Winfield has faced many obstacles, hurdles and hindrances in the past few weeks, but as a team, you ALL have stepped up. Weather, illness, doctor appointments, accidents, hospital visits, dentist visits, allergies, sick kids, sick selves; it seems like there are emergencies EVERY SINGLE DAY. Getting all 317 students to school every day seems like just about all we can handle. It is hard to pinpoint one single or pivotal role, but if I had to pick one, it would be our office administrative assistant, Kristen. Her ability to wear at a minimum, four hats, was proven this past week. She fills in for the counselor, administrator and custodian all while seamlessly completing her own responsibilities. She copes with multiple voices, students and bodies around her desk, all vying for her attention. She portrays a positive attitude under all this pressure serving the students, parents and staff like they were all her own! She gets kids their lunches, teachers copies, fields phone calls, bus notes, and excused absences, all within a brief span of time. Yet, she persists like a trooper, vesting herself in a better future for all of us. If you see her, how about a special shout out? Thank you, Kristen.

One Reason...

Mr McCracken took a few selfies to prove he was actually working while at Tan Tara.

Thanks again KG for shouldering ALL the extra duties!

For the short week of March 13th - 16th

Monday

• 8th Grade Shadow Day at the High School
• Track Practice until Thursday
• Mandatory Cheer Meeting

Tuesday

• PBiS Tier 2
• Math is hosting a pi-day event
• Board of Education Meeting

Wednesday

• 8th Grade Shadow Days
• Early Release Day
• Math Collaboration Day

Thursday

• Chess Club - Mr. Utlaut’s room

Friday

• Spring Break

Upon return, March 27th

• Kick off assembly for ‘Summer Journey’

Upcoming/Ongoing

• Step-Up Days for the 5th Graders
• 3/28
• 3/29
• 3/30
• 4/4
• 4/6
• Summer School Registration till March 16th - ALL STUDENTS WELCOME
• SPRING BREAK - March 17th - 24th
• Ac Lab Challenge - March 31st
• April 6 - Bumper Volleyball Tournament 2:45 - 4:30
• Semi - April 21st
• BOGO Book Fair - April 24 - 28
• NJHS Induction - April 25 at 6:30 pm in MS Gym
• Spring Choir Concert - May 2nd
• Middle School MAP Testing - May 4th - 11th
• Field Day - May 15th
• Spring Band Concert - May 16th
• Six Flags - May 12th - Begin to sell after Spring Break.
• Google Forms to gather student data
• Last Day of School - May 17th
• Graduation - May 21st at 2:00 PM

The Four Pillars of the National Honor Society

These pillars represent components of both the Honor Society as well as the Junior National Honor Society for Middle School Students. Induction in these types of service organizations leads to deeper connections, positive influences, role models, and further depth in the entire educational experience we call School.

One of the reasons Kristen had to work so hard was because I was out of town speaking at the National Honor Society State Convention on the Four Pillars of NHS. Throughout the week, KG held down the fort with fantastic agility and grace. Thanks again.

Speaking out of town about these pillars helped me articulate their true meaning. Leadership, Scholarship, Citizenship, and Service formulate the cornerstones of the application and acceptance process of the Society. They have deep, advanced ,and challenging definitions, but they might also be quite simple. Let’s investigate each term further.

LEADERSHIP

Leadership carries many illustrations, quotes, quips, and little phrases to help us better explain what it means to be a leader. For our purposes, let’s say ”leadership” is doing the right thing, regardless. Acting with integrity, doing what is right, even if nobody else is doing it and taking the high road, even if nobody else follows.. Of course, it is nice to have “followers,” but they might not be right behind. Taking the high road often implies it is harder, more challenging, vacant or lonely--and probably even less traveled Regardless, do the right thing!

SCHOLARSHIP 

Scholarship carries an overtone of great study, perfect report cards, lots of book learning, but further exploration may lead to implications for all of us! For instance, if “scholarship” is doing things right, all the time, the rest of us can participate in scholarship by doing the best we can do in any and all endeavours. Academic avenues are not exclusive. We might do our jobs right, stack our boxes at work properly, work smarter, leave things better than found them, and not take those shortcuts. Our act of scholarship may not be doing the right thing, but doing things right! Some may even consider that management.

CITIZENSHIP

Citizenship is just being part of the team. We are all part of various groups, teams, clubs, cliques, as well as countries, cities, and states. Advocating for the entire community takes the focus off ourselves and onto the bigger group. Citizenship might be just as simple as advocating for the team! As a teammate, it could be giving it your all. As a friend, it might be acting as an UPSTANDER and not just a BYSTANDER. A student might behave better in class. Regardless of the group, each of us can act as a part of the team, participating, contributing, and bringing a positive attitude to encourage the betterment of everyone involved.

SERVICE

Finally, Service means making those around you comfortable. Friends, co-workers, parents, siblings, and classmates describe a few of the people we come in contact with throughout our day. Humbly placing others above ourselves, serving their needs and allowing them to pass through doors first are a few simple examples. A hostess, waiter, or concierge will foresee, plan for, and solve a customer’s need before the customer even realizes the deficiency. For instance, a good waitress will never let the tea disappear and have the glass rattle with ice.

Of course, these “soft skills” are only part of our overall purpose at the Middle School. Yes we want to get our scores as high as possible, but not at the cost of these social skills so hard to measure! The Honor Society combines all four indicators and invites many students to apply, but only a portion actually achieve the status and gain induction into the society. Kudos to them.

Briefly,

Tom McCracken